U.S. peanuts are inspected multiple times — by growers, USDA and manufacturers — before they reach consumers.

Envisioning a World Without Food Allergies

The groundbreaking LEAP Study discovered that

introducing peanut products to infants early can reduce the risk of developing a peanut allergy by up to 86 percent

1%

the true percentage of Americans with a peanut allergy

Prevalence of peanut and tree nut allergy in the US determined by a random digit-dial telephone survey. (J Allergy Clin Immunol. 1999 Apr;103(4):559-62.)

24%

the percentage of Americans that people incorrectly believe have a peanut allergy

The Bantam Group. Allergy and School Bans/Restrictions, 2013 Consumer Study

Over the past 16 years, The National Peanut Board has led the fight to solve food allergies like no other commodity board. Through its efforts, America’s Peanut Farmers have earmarked more than

$25 million to food allergy research, education and outreach.

Feed The Future

Through the University of Georgia’s Feed the Future Program:

Farmers in Ghana are testing new post-harvest methods to prevent aflatoxin development in peanuts.

Aflatoxin is a naturally occurring fungal toxin found in everyday environments. Aflatoxins can occur in crops and food products like corn, peanuts, cottonseed, tree nuts and many more. For peanuts to be certified as meeting edible quality grade standards, their aflatoxin content must be 15 parts per billion (ppb) or less.

Thanks to programs like this, researchers are learning how to deal with crop stressors and are boosting domestic production research with new data. To date, there has never been an outbreak of human illness from aflatoxins in the U.S.